Cultural Family Assessment - Report Example

CULTURAL FAMILY ASSESSMENT The quip that “In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, [and] bridge to our future”, articulated by American writer Alex Haley (in Lewis, n. d.) during a past generation applies until the present day. Modernization should not break the impetus for mankind to continue learning about culture and the family, since the family is regarded as the nucleus of civilization (Durant & Durant, in Lewis, n. d.). Gannon (2004) also believes that there is a multitude of reasons to learn more about cultural differences, citing that about 25 to 50 percent of basic family values are influenced by culture. Significant insights about family life were derived from my interview of a family whose cultural background is different from mine. The Family My interviewees are from ________________ (please indicate a location near your place of residence or abode). I am very positive that this assessment is objective because this family was referred to me by a good friend, hence I did not have any prior encounter with any of the members. They are a family of three, the father is 39 years old, the mother is 30 years old and the child is an adorable five-year old boy. The family structure is nuclear. Both the parents are from the Philippines, a country in Southeast Asia. They have both been granted American citizenship, by virtue of their almost two decades of stay in the United States. Both parents believe that their child is closer to the mother, since she spends more time at home. None of the parents, however, conceded about whom the child looks a lot more like and would not settle for a half and half resemblance. The funny contest-of-sorts between the parents amid the chuckle of their five-year old who tickles his parents alternately, provided me more confidence in proceeding deeper into the interview. My first impression is that this family laughs a lot. At present, there are no indications of an extended family. The wife says she is raring to have her mother with them and confided of an on-going petition with the American government regarding the matter. The husband seems to sincerely enjoy the idea of having his mother-in-law as a new member of their extended family. Both the husband and the wife are enjoying their first marriage and have agreed that they would welcome two more children, given the chance. Coming from a culture which from books are said to be conservative about divorce, the husband naturally articulated his views about doing everything possible to keep away from divorce or separation, and professed undying love for his wife and child. I surmised that the wife’s silence on the issues indicates congruence with the husband’s stand. The wife asserted that she will never remarry if her husband passes away. The husband, however, claimed that he would keep an open mind about remarriage, especially if he falls in love again after his wife’s demise. He, however, explained his answer saying that he can never outgrow how good it is to be taken cared of by his wife and would surely miss the love and the care when his wife is gone. Structural Assessment Because of hectic schedule on both my part and the family interviewees, I had to settle with a late afternoon trip to and an evening trip from the subject family’s home. I did not see so many people from their culture, called Filipinos, in the vicinity of their modest home. This should indicate that this family tries to blend in with the typical American profile family. The two-storey house is more or less 1500 square feet, a lovely lawn, gables and a small garage on the side. Most of the interview was conducted in the porch but I was given the chance to see the inside of the house when I was invited to join them for dinner. While the house and the environs are typically American, the food is still Filipino and Asian. We had rice, sumptuous pork and chicken adobo and mixed vegetables, which for a while I thought was also Filipino, but was actually a Chinese delicacy called chopsuey. The dessert served was called halo-halo, made of canned sweet corn, sweetened bananas and beans, and gelatin with evaporated milk, sugar and shaved ice. There were three bedrooms in the house: the master’s bedroom, the child’s bedroom, and a guest room. The wife confided that the child’s bedroom is usually empty at night because their five-year old prefers to sleep with the couple every night in the master’s bedroom. Wooden stairs permit access to the second-floor of the house. The house, lawn and the immediate surroundings are clean and the house is relatively secure with smoke detector and sprinklers, security locks, guardrails on the glass windows. There are no indications of environmental hazard in terms of chipped paint and old building, since the house was constructed during the new millennium. However, characteristic of most suburban homes in America, there are threats of pollution from nearby factories and heavy street traffic. The father is a certified public accountant and is employed full time in an accounting firm. The mother holds a certificate in business administration and works as a part time clerk. The five-year old is enrolled in pre-school. The mother reports to her part time work while her son is attending pre-school. The mother picks her son up from after school after her part time work, which she schedules to coincide with her son’s dismissal time in school. The parents believe that are not exposed to the dangers of exposed to any form of industrial hazards either at home or in the workplace. The parents are born-again Christians of the Christian Reformed Church. They contend that they only believe what in written in the word of god, which is the Holy Bible. They believe they do not adhere to any religious tradition even when they were still in the Philippines because they were already born-again Christians back then. The have very few practices handed down from the Filipino culture. The parents claimed that when they were still in the Philippines, they used to troop to the cemeteries every first of November to visit their dead relatives. This practice is accompanied with lots of merry-making and native delicacies, together with the suman (rice cake). What is ironic, however, according to them is that “All Souls Day” is supposed to be commemorated on the second and not on the first of November. What is supposed to be celebrated on November first is “All Saints’ Day”. Up to this very day, however, the practice remains without correcting the dates and interchanging the celebrations. The interviewees claimed that although their dead are in the Philippines, they commemorate November 2 as “All Souls Day” by lighting a candle for their dear departed. English is the main language spoken at home. The parents, however, claimed that to somehow preserve their Filipino identity, they sometimes speak in their native Philippine dialect Tagalog so that their five-year old can be trained to speak and understand at least a little Tagalog so that he can converse with his grandmother and other relatives when they get the chance to visit the Philippines somewhere in the future. Functional Assessment The parents consider their lifestyle conservative. The favorite family activities are playing ball in the garden, reading the Bible together and telling biblical stories, and going on a picnic and nature trip. The father loves to read during his spare time, while the mother knits and cross stitches when ever there is available leisure time, but as the mother claimed, leisure time is very minimal on her part because keeping house is a 24-hour job. The family’s top priorities in the order of importance are: (1) keeping their finances stable in spite of the burgeoning recession and economic difficulties in the US; (2) giving a good education for their only child; (3) keeping their Filipino identity while assimilating the American way of life. The importance of good education and a stable cultural identity are the most important things that the parents want to instill in their five-year old. During the interview process, it was observed that the husband is the authority as far as general aspects of family life are concerned like finances, family security and priorities. Lighter matter like food choices, family activities, and church are taken cared of by the matter. Like most Filipino families, the father is the supreme authority and the major decision maker. The family is closely knit and as earlier mentioned laughs a lot. Both parents have a good sense of humor. Both parents believe that if they can help it, they ought to bring up their child and future children, if ever, the traditional Filipino way. They would want to be strict about the policies of “no girlfriend till 18”, “no sex till 25” and “no marrying unless their child has a stable job and has finished college”. They also do not like the idea of their child leaving the home and turning independent at 18. According to the parents’ narrative, they are afraid that everything they wish for about their child might not be all possible because in the Philippines, the three policies in quotation are no longer practicable. There are no serious health problems in the family, except for the child’s asthma which was diagnosed last year. None of the parents have asthma. The parents shared the pediatrician’s opinion that the asthma could be triggered by food allergies. The child is currently undergoing de-sensitizing procedures to neutralize the allergens. As far as support systems are concerned, the family is very active in church. The parents try hard to be active in school activities of their five-year old requiring parental participation and/or support. The father has immediate plans to immerse himself in community affiliations. The mother, however, divulged that she can not make out extra time to join community associations, and is leaving everything to her husband. Both parents believe that they can make both ends meet with what the two of them make, and can still save for their son’s college. Nutritional Assessment Meals are served on a regular schedule. The parents eat breakfast together, because usually the child is still sleeping during breakfast time, which is usually at 6:00 am. The mother and the child have lunch during weekdays, usually at 12:30 pm. The family is complete everyday at dinner time, usually at 7:00 pm whenever the father is not doing overtime work in the office. Since the child is only five-years old, he does not yet take part in meal planning. And the mother believes that it will take some time before the son can join meal planning because of his asthma. All the meals, including snacks are prepared and cooked at home. The mother allows TV watching during meals on the condition that the son finishes all his food at a reasonable time. The mother believes she is serving well-balanced meals to her family. The son was found to be allergic to chicken and eggs and these are triggers to his asthma. Both the parents are well-built, neither obese nor thin. The five-year-old child is obviously overweight. The mother believes that nobody from their family have eating disorders. The father confessed that every Saturday night, he checks the refrigerator and the kitchen cabinet for out-dated or nearly out-dated products because Saturday is usually grocery day. Over some light moments, the wife signaled the husband to stop the expose, but was in no way successful. It was revealed that the wife has a radar for grocery and other household items being sold on sale and loves to take home more for her money’s worth. The husband continued the revelation that most Filipino housewives in the US and in the Philippines are good sale hunters and loves to buy goods on sale. The husband, however, clarified that he loves his wife for her being frugal and a wise buyer. Both parents stated that they wash their hands well before handling food whether in the kitchen during preparation or in the table before eating. I was showed the kitchen cabinets so that I can see for myself if the food stored are properly labeled. I found the labels minimal and acceptable. However, none of the foods stored in the refrigerator are labeled. The wife, however explained that the mere position of the food stored in the refrigerator and the color of the cover serves some form of unlisted labeling. Foods stored farther away from the door of the refrigerator are the newest stored foods and those that are stored nearest the door are the oldest stored food. Red cover means meat, blue cover means fish, green cover means vegetable. The family plays ball every Saturday and Sunday morning. Husband and wife also jogs every Saturday and Sunday mornings. Except for the Saturday and Sunday jogs, the lifestyle of the husband is rather sedentary, spending most the day sitting in the office table. After dinner, the husband usually continues working on some accounting jobs for friends with small businesses or tax problems as sideline. The wife disclosed that she does sit ups in the morning after rising from bed. After her morning chores are complete, she also engages in a 45-minutes aerobics session everyday in front of her favorite aerobics videos. Both husband and wife believes on the importance in exercise against heart disease, diabetes, and work-related stress. Anticipatory Guidance and Health Promotion Strategies The following strengths were revealed about the culture of the family interviewed: (1) values the sanctity of the family highly. They do not welcome the idea of divorce and are indifferent about separation; (2) cross-cultural survivors. They managed to blend in the American way of life but have kept their cultural identity intact; (3) God-centered. They read the bible together and parents take turn telling Bible stories to the son; (4) English is the main language spoken at home. This precludes the development of communication barriers between the growing child and his peers in school and the community, who are predominantly American and have English as their first language. (5) financial stability; (6) lines of authority are clearly demarcated; (7) family is closely knit; (8) family has a sense of humor and this is evident even in the child; (9) meals are served on a regular basis, and commonly with the whole family; (10) frugal spending. Hunting worthwhile bargains are a good sign of wise buying; and (11) belief in the importance of exercise. (12) home cookingHome prepared and cooked foods are more nutritious and healthful than fastfood and restaurant meals. The following risks were perceived regarding their culture: (1) The mother is not too sensitive about the allergy-induced asthma of the son. During dinner, one of the dishes served is prepared from chicken and pork. Later on during the interview, it was revealed that one of the earliest allergen detected causing the asthma was chicken. This might not be good for the health condition of the son. (2) The parents have not done much progress in training their son to sleep in his own bedroom. Children who insist to continue sleeping with their parents have problems facing their own fear and will continue to be afraid of sleeping alone. The practice also implies that the parents may be finding difficulties having good sleep and time alone with each other (AnxietyBC, 2004). (3) The threats of pollution from the suburban community will definitely have implications on the present health condition (asthma) of the child. (4) The parents’ expectations about how they want to impose discipline on their child and future children, particularly on the "policies in quotations" as a consequence of their conservative cultural background, could be frustrating for the parents and bring out problems in the family. (5) The family lacks support systems. The father is yet to join a community organization. Both parents has not mentioned any family-centered associations which they have joined or are going to join when this issue was brought about during the interview. (6) Having the television on during meals might take away the pleasure of eating, not only from the child but also from the parents. Also, eating time is a good bonding moment for the family, where quality conversations take place. (7) Buying bargain items specially food products might not always be wise-spending. Even an experienced housekeeper may not be able to properly plan meals which will consume all foods products bought on sale before their expiration date. (8) Not having labels on foods on the refrigerator might be risky for a hungry five-year old who might just grab anything inside the ref when he is hungry. Dates on stored foods even in the ref should properly warn anybody wanting to eat the food after a minute or two in the microwave will minimize chances of food poisoning. (9) The sedentary lifestyle of the father is a health risk. It is more dangerous than smoking, presents a higher mortality risk than cancer, respiratory ailments, and heart disease. For better health, this culture should try to effect improve on the following : (1) More awareness and sensitivities of allergy-induced asthma, especially for the mother who prepares and cooks the food. (2) Seek medical attention to help change the attitude of the child about co-sleeping (3) Consider the installation of anti-pollution devices in the house and in the car to help improve present health condition (asthma) of the child. (4) Consider turning off the television while eating. (5) Think twice about the benefits of buying bargain food products or food products on sale (6) Labeling all food stored in the refrigerator and in the kitchen cabinets. (7) Couples may find added benefits in co-exercising. In terms of nutritional assessment, improvements may be made on the following areas (1) More awareness and sensitivities of allergy-induced asthma, especially for the mother who prepares and cooks the food. (2) Consider turning off the television while eating. (3) Think twice about the benefits of buying bargain food products or food products on sale (4) Labeling all food stored in the refrigerator and in the kitchen cabinets. In terms of the family’s health needs, the family only identified the need for exercise. From the results of the interview, the interviewer believes that their motivation about the need for exercise is theoretical knowledge based on readings and media. REFERENCES Adams, M. (2004). Sedentary Lifestyle causes more deaths than smoking. Retrieved October 14, 2008 from http://www.naturalnews.com/001547.html AnxietyBC (2004). Helping Your Child Sleep Alone or Away fro Home. Retrieved October 14, 2008 from http://www.anxietybc.com/parent/pdfs/howto/dealing_with_co_sleeping.pdf Gannon, M. J. (2004). Understanding Global Cultures: Metaphorical Journeys Through 28 Nations, Clusters of Nations, and Continents. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Lewis, J. J. (n. d.). Family Quotes. Retrieved October 14, 2008 from http://www.wisdomquotes.com/cat_family.html Read More

He, however, explained his answer saying that he can never outgrow how good it is to be taken cared of by his wife and would surely miss the love and the care when his wife is gone. Structural Assessment Because of hectic schedule on both my part and the family interviewees, I had to settle with a late afternoon trip to and an evening trip from the subject family’s home. I did not see so many people from their culture, called Filipinos, in the vicinity of their modest home. This should indicate that this family tries to blend in with the typical American profile family.

The two-storey house is more or less 1500 square feet, a lovely lawn, gables and a small garage on the side. Most of the interview was conducted in the porch but I was given the chance to see the inside of the house when I was invited to join them for dinner. While the house and the environs are typically American, the food is still Filipino and Asian. We had rice, sumptuous pork and chicken adobo and mixed vegetables, which for a while I thought was also Filipino, but was actually a Chinese delicacy called chopsuey.

The dessert served was called halo-halo, made of canned sweet corn, sweetened bananas and beans, and gelatin with evaporated milk, sugar and shaved ice. There were three bedrooms in the house: the master’s bedroom, the child’s bedroom, and a guest room. The wife confided that the child’s bedroom is usually empty at night because their five-year old prefers to sleep with the couple every night in the master’s bedroom. Wooden stairs permit access to the second-floor of the house. The house, lawn and the immediate surroundings are clean and the house is relatively secure with smoke detector and sprinklers, security locks, guardrails on the glass windows.

There are no indications of environmental hazard in terms of chipped paint and old building, since the house was constructed during the new millennium. However, characteristic of most suburban homes in America, there are threats of pollution from nearby factories and heavy street traffic. The father is a certified public accountant and is employed full time in an accounting firm. The mother holds a certificate in business administration and works as a part time clerk. The five-year old is enrolled in pre-school.

The mother reports to her part time work while her son is attending pre-school. The mother picks her son up from after school after her part time work, which she schedules to coincide with her son’s dismissal time in school. The parents believe that are not exposed to the dangers of exposed to any form of industrial hazards either at home or in the workplace. The parents are born-again Christians of the Christian Reformed Church. They contend that they only believe what in written in the word of god, which is the Holy Bible.

They believe they do not adhere to any religious tradition even when they were still in the Philippines because they were already born-again Christians back then. The have very few practices handed down from the Filipino culture. The parents claimed that when they were still in the Philippines, they used to troop to the cemeteries every first of November to visit their dead relatives. This practice is accompanied with lots of merry-making and native delicacies, together with the suman (rice cake).

What is ironic, however, according to them is that “All Souls Day” is supposed to be commemorated on the second and not on the first of November. What is supposed to be celebrated on November first is “All Saints’ Day”. Up to this very day, however, the practice remains without correcting the dates and interchanging the celebrations. The interviewees claimed that although their dead are in the Philippines, they commemorate November 2 as “All Souls Day” by lighting a candle for their dear departed.

English is the main language spoken at home. The parents, however, claimed that to somehow preserve their Filipino identity, they sometimes speak in their native Philippine dialect Tagalog so that their five-year old can be trained to speak and understand at least a little Tagalog so that he can converse with his grandmother and other relatives when they get the chance to visit the Philippines somewhere in the future.

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